A Food Blog with Personality

UK Food

Quite clearly this is a post that has been sitting in my drafts for months, seeing as we visited Suffolk way back in September. Whilst this visit was a reasonably long time ago, I couldn’t not share this like gem of a place. Not only is the village of Orford perfectly lovely – quaint cottages, gorgeous countryside and friendly locals that actually smile and say “hello” (can you tell I’m pretty much a fully fledged Londoner these days?!), but this bakery-come-cafe is enough to want to make me move out to the sticks.

Painted in a candyfloss pink, with a modern yet rustic interior, the main eating area features a large communal table. This is the kind of dining I love. Relaxed, with good conversation. We met a delightful couple who were in the village to dry-dock their boat from the quay for the next year whilst they travelled the world. It was this couple that persauded us to stay for lunch, rather than just a drink and a pastry. I’ll be forever thankful to this couple.

Both of us ordered the hot chocolate. Pump Street Bakery are also one of the limited amount of people within the UK who make their own bean-to-bar chocolate. As a lover of proper, artisan chocolate this really excited me – and we shelled out (£6 a bar) to bring some home with us. I can confirmed it is VERY good chocolate, though the price still makes me wince. The hot chocolate is perhaps a slightly more purse-friendly way of trying it out – rich and chocolatey without being cloying. The homemade marshmallow added just the right amount of sweetness. It was YUM.

But maybe not quite as yum as our actual lunch.

It’s a pretty limited ‘eat in’ menu, but what is there is beautifully thought out. W chose the sandwich. Made with their own sourdough, it packed in local Suffolk salami, roasted fennel, rocket and aioli. The bread was substantial, soft but firm as a soughdough should be, with a chewy crust that wasn’t too hard and dry. The fennel in particular worked so well in the sandwich, adding both a crunch and some freshness. Probably my top sandwich of 2017, if I’m being honest!

I went for the cheese toasty. Having booked a cheese toasty van for our wedding evening food, it’s safe to say I love this snack – and this one didn’t disappoint. A mix of cheddar and Ogleshield cheese, it was both strong and stringy. With shards of crispy cheese and perfectly crisp sourdough, it was rich and decadent and oh so delicious. The date chutney was the perfect foil to cut through the cheese – though perhaps a bit of salad on the side would have made this absolute perfection.

Having been recommended the chocolate doughnuts, we were very disappointed to find them sold out. We grabbed the last jam one, along with a custard version too (y’ano, for the blog!). Eating them later in the car we realised we’d have to make a return trip the next day for a chocolate one! And we did. And I regret it, because no doughnut will ever, ever be the same…

So I’ve done the ‘home cooking’ bucket list, now it’s time for the UK version. Here’s a collection of the restaurants and places I most want to visit in the UK – by no means is it everything on my list, because that would be a VERY long blog post!

Instead this was just me sitting down for 5 minutes and listing down everything that first jumped into my head – because that’s probably the ones I want to do most, right?! Though realistically if I could just eat everything that would be wonderful…

Eat Lobster on the beach in North Berwick. This particular beach holds a special place in my heart, and I just know it would be a perfect meal.

Try the Hallomi Fries at KERB. My Instagram feed was full of them over the summer and they looked so damn tasty!

Eat at Wood Manchester. I actually met Simon (winner of 2015’s Masterchef) a few weeks back at an event run by Magnet kitchens. He was as lovely as he seemed on the show, and the dishes he cooked up were simply delicious – scallops and dahl, 18-hour pork belly, mackerel with goats curd and beetroot. I can only imagine what his restaurant’s food is like!

Head back to Pump Street Bakery for another doughnut. That’s how good it was!

Try some proper Ramen. Send me recommendations asap!

A foodie trip to Wales. I’ve been following Gourmet Gorro for a while and the restaurants he eats at make me jealous for two reasons. One, the food looks delicious. Two, the prices are insane compared to what I’m used to in London.

Try alllllll the burgers. Shake Shack, Bleecker Street and Patty & Bun are all vying for my next visit!

Eat pasta from a “bowl” of cheese. You can thank Rosie for that craving…